MANY foreign tourists have nice things to say about Malaysia, but they are often appalled by our public toilets and those in shops and eateries.
Even Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has voiced dismay over the condition of public toilets. He says he often inspects public toilets and find them smelly and unclean.
Despite campaigns for clean toilets, we do not seem to have achieved much.
I’ve been highlighting this issue for more than 20 years and have written to the media and the authorities. Unfortunately, nothing seems to have changed.
To use developed countries as a benchmark may be too ambitious. We should instead emulate developing countries such as our neighbour Thailand, which is known for its clean toilets, including in rural areas.
It was reported that 61 per cent of the 10,257 public toilets in Malaysia are a disgrace. Only a miserable 350, or 3.4 per cent, achieved five-star ratings, while 1,086, or 10 per cent, are too terrible to get even one star.
Audit findings by the Local Government Department indicate the majority of public toilets are in unsatisfactory condition.
Even toilets in shopping complexes and fancy restaurants are not clean and odourless despite the fact that people have to pay to use them. Food operators will find ways to improve the quality of their food, but not toilets.
It boils down to maintenance, usage, the culture of cleanliness and civic mindedness.
Our children should embrace and practise the civic education taught in schools and not just memorise them to pass the exam.
There is also the issue of people who have not learnt how to use public toilets appropriately and vandalise them.
The design of our toilets should be improved as I realise people of different backgrounds use the facilities differently. For example, some are not keen to use the urinal, but prefer the cubicles.
It is high time to educate the public on how to use toilets properly. There is also the need to instil a culture of keeping toilets clean for other users.
In short, we need a toilet revolution. We need to revolutionise the way we think about toilets. We must not believe toilets are meant to be dirty so we need not do anything about it.
Authorities and Malaysians must have a strong culture of maintenance and make it a way of life. Let us not have first world infrastructure, but third class mentality on maintenance. The prime minister should make this a national agenda and see it through.
TAN SRI LEE LAM THYE
Kuala Lumpur